What to do when your team has mood swings
I remember being at school and having a ‘friend’ who dictated the mood of the group.
When she was in a good mood, we all were.
When she wasn’t, everything became tense—like walking on eggshells. The mood was fragile. It could break at any moment.
Looking back, it’s a familiar dynamic.
Maybe you’ve seen it in your own team.
You walk into a meeting and instantly sense the energy. It’s upbeat. It’s focused. Or it’s heavy, dragging everyone down.
Mood swings, when left without consideration, take centre stage.
They define the day. They dictate productivity. They shape the emotional culture of your team, often without anyone realising.
And yet, so many leaders avoid addressing them. They don’t have to.
Most workplaces are built around cognitive culture—values, strategies, objectives.
But emotional culture?
That’s the invisible rhythm underneath it all. The hum of collaboration. The tension of stress. The pulse of motivation.
Mood swings—whether from one person or the team as a whole—are a symptom of something deeper.
A lack of emotional alignment. Unspoken frustrations. Small miscommunications that, left alone, turn into something big and ugly.
They don’t have to.
The gold sits on the other side of honest conversations.
I know, most people avoid them.
But this is where real team connection lives.
One of the simplest but most powerful things a team can do is talk openly about how they want to feel at work.
Create a rhythm. A shared understanding. A harmony.
Try this:
- In your next team meeting, ask: “What do we need to feel (and not feel) to be successful team?”
- Notice what people say—and what they don’t.
- Encourage honesty, without trying to fix or manage emotions.
When teams create their own emotional culture—when they decide together what feelings drive their best work—mood swings become something you can navigate, not something that blindsides you.
Strong emotional cultures don’t mean ‘always being happy.’
They mean understanding emotions, not being controlled by them.
They mean creating a culture where people don’t have to guess how to show up.
When this happens:
✅ Mood swings don’t derail the team.
✅ Conflict becomes a space for connection, not division.
✅ Teams feel safe enough to bring their best work—not just their safest work.
Because in the end, emotional culture isn’t about one person’s mood dominating the room. It’s about co-creating a space where everyone can do their best work, together.
So, how does your team want to feel?
Not just words. A rhythm. A flow. A culture that moves as one.
Let us work with you to find this flow...
Cara
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